Grade 5

Reading strategies are reviewed and reinforced through Guided Reading groups, Literary Circles, Author Study, as well as within the whole group shared reading experience. Students will demonstrate their understanding of texts, and their achievements as readers by reading 25 grade appropriate books during grade five. They will read a wide range of genres to gain meaning; they will build an understanding of texts, genres, themes, informational content, self, the human experience, their own culture(s) and the cultures of others. Students will identify, analyze, and provide evidence from texts to support their understandings.

This ongoing process includes all facets of the writing process: Prewriting, Drafting, Sharing, Revising, Editing, and Publishing. Students will write compositions for different audiences and purposes. They will write with a clear focus, coherent organization and sufficient detail.

Fifth-grade students explore big ideas that include: developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, developing understanding of multiplication and division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions), extending division to two-digit divisors, developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations, and developing understanding of volume.

Science: Students  explore our Water Planet throughout the school year.  They continue using the science practices through exploration, observation,  data collection & analysis, and recording of information in their science journals.  They construct explanations and engage in arguments about why the Sun appears to be the largest star and why it is important to take care of our limited water supply. The year starts by examining the relationship of our planet to the Sun.  Through hands-on explorations, students explore how water is transformed into different phases and collect and analyze data about these changes.  This knowledge is transferred to an examination of all the different phases of the water cycle and the impacts on watersheds.  Students investigate food webs of different types of wetlands by exploring areas found on Case Campus.  In design engineering, students create water filters and compare composting systems. Finally, students participate in a capstone project designed to answer the question “Is Case Campus healthy?”

Social Studies: The fifth grade focus is a study of United States history by exploring the theme of “Who belongs?” “Who had a voice?” and “Who had a choice?”   Students start by examining the settlement of already settled land before moving to whether all people were afforded similar opportunities in the growth of the colonies.  They also explore how people stood up for their rights through resistance and protest.  Students will investigate the impact of our nation’s growth on the original inhabitants and the growth of the mill industry in New England.  Finally, integrating the study of water, students will research whether water is a civil right by participating in a set of case studies.